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Collective
"First off, 'Collective' implies that I'm a part of some greater organism: I'm not. I have a name. And who exactly IS part of this collective? The Technocracy? Its citizens? The whole Eastern Block?" - A Friendly Missionary stationed in the Ashed. The Collective is a colloquial term for the Circle of Friends, the Technocracy, and its members, used outside of the Eastern Block. It is sometimes used pejoratively, which occasionally leads to confusion in cases where it is not intended to be. Origin The term for the Circle of Friends that was coined by an unknown source and proliferated throughout the surface of Soi much like the informal name for any civilization. (Ashed/Ash born) (Goran/Red Tide) (Broken Kingdoms/Stone Men) The name "Collective" comes from the perception that the citizens of the Circle specialize to such a degree that they are more or less unable to work without their fellows around them to work together, and on their own find it difficult to function. However when together function very well much like an assembly line due to their focus in their chosen function. Its mostly used because "Circle of Friends" is a rather long name for a distant group of people, and "Collective" sounds more concise and serious, as opposed to the more encouraged "Friendlies". The name also derives from their culture of shared possessions and responsibilities such as raising of children being delegated to others aside from their parents. Use abroad The term "The Collective" is used by most people in Western Soi when referring to the nation of "The Circle of Friends". It was made and popularized amongst the Ashed and the Family Hearth , and the Friendlies don't really respond strongly or often enough to dissuade them. The Broken Kingdom, being rather closely tied to the Circle of Friends, and a society in which impolite words usually results in broken noses and cracked teeth pointedly avoid the use of the term Collective unless roused. In the Kingdom, the Circle of Friends is usually referred to as "The Circle" for short and individuals of their neighbor nation are called "Friend". There is little confusion as companions in the Kingdom are generally termed "comrade" or "brother/sister" when the bond is closer. The Tallet have used this term when describing the Circle to conquered villagers, as it sounds cold and overbearing to them. It typically does not come up in their literature, however, as to claim that the Friendlies do not value the individual as if it were a negative would be counter-productive. Friendly response It can be offensive because to call an individual Friendly "Collective" in place of a name implies that being a member of some vague, cold collective is the sum of their individuality, something which Friendly culture emphasizes the importance of. The Friendlies themselves don't really address this internally, as they have never called themselves this, and it is not commonly used within the Eastern Block, but the Technocracy does make sure that foreign dignitaries, such as Missionaries are aware of the term and able to deal with it before leaving. Category:Culture Category:Friendlies